Dominican police, firing pellets, wound reporter

New York, February 2, 2011--Dominican police wounded journalist Francisco Frías Morel on Friday as
he was covering a funeral procession for a youth killed in a police shooting in
the northeastern city of Nagua, according to news
reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on
local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and to hold those
responsible to account.

"We condemn the use of
violence by Dominican police to obstruct news coverage," said Carlos Lauría,
CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas. "We call on authorities
to investigate the attack and bring those responsible to justice."

Frías was among a group
of 15 journalists covering a funeral procession for Luís Alfredo Domínguez, 21,
who had been killed in a police shooting on January 26, news reports said. A
police commission is investigating the Domínguez shooting, which sparked
protests over perceived police violence, the Santo Domingo-based daily El Nacionalreported.
Four police officers have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

On Friday, journalists in
front of the funeral procession were confronted by about a dozen police
officers, according to Frías and Teonilda Gómez, Nagua correspondent for Santo
Domingo-based news daily Listín Diario.
The agents fired pellets and launched tear gas canisters, prompting reporters
to take cover, Frías and Gómez told CPJ. Frías was hit in the face and abdomen
with the pellets, local press reports said.
The journalists were wearing press passes and had clearly labeled equipment,
including cameras and video cameras, according to Frias and Gómez. Frías was
taken by a colleague to a hospital where he remained until Sunday. One pellet
remained lodged near his left eye, according to press reports. Frías told CPJ
he planned to seek further medical care in Santo Domingo this week.

Frías, 45, is director of
FM Cabrera, runs a news blog, and co-produces a daily news program called "El
Desahogo" on Radio Trébol FM. He had been critical of a police report
indicating that Domínguez had been killed in a shootout with local police.
Frías reported on his blog, Prensa Libre
Nagua, and on "El Desahogo," that police had shot Domínguez at close range.

In an interview with CPJ,
the Nagua police commander, Col. Juan Antonio Lora Castro, said that police did
not fire on the journalists but were trying to disperse what he called an unruly
crowd. Lora Castro, who took command in Nagua this week, said only rubber
bullets were used in Friday's protest.

Frías, who also works in
a local senator's press office, said he believes police targeted him for his reporting
on Domínguez's death. He said the crowd was at least 250 feet (75 meters) behind
the group of journalists and around a corner.